Almost as Bright as the Stars and Lightning
by person959597
Summary: A financially stumped Lucy finds herself relying on someone she never expected to have to; Laxus Dreyar. What was supposed to be a one-time partnership develops into something neither mage is prepared for. From thugs in love with Lucy to twins with nothing nice to say to Laxus, the two face unexpected troubles, but as expected, the light of Stars and Lightning will prevail on top,
1. Chapter 1

Lucy Heartfilia was, despite how the word would often be affiliated with her, not _weak_. Most people didn't realize just how much effort it took to summon celestial spirits, let alone keep them in the living world and summon more than one at the same time while also opening and closing different gates at rapid fire. In a more frank way of putting it, celestial magic is extraordinarily difficult and for all the trouble, unconventional. Making it into something useful required much technique, magical energy, and strategy, all of which often took years to hone into anything worth being called decent.

Lucy identifies with all three qualities required to make a talented celestial mage but the fact is, compared to most other magics, Celestial Summoning will come off as insufficient. Take, for example Dragon Slayer magic. Natsu's roar would probably take the same amount of magical energy as holding Plue's gate open for about five minutes. Holding open Loke's gate for a good three hours would most likely render Natsu about ten minutes away from unconsciousness. It was something basically never acknowledged but Lucy had much more magical power than Natsu, she had to in order to be able to fight properly, but Natsu's spells, partially thanks to his naturally affinity with flame, took much less magical power to cast and at the same time were much more flashy and caused a whole lot more destruction than her own.

Being on a team like Team Natsu, on which all members other than herself had an uncanny skillset of destructive abilities countered her own which relied on intelligence and good planning, and rather than "the odd one out", this contrast of natural capabilities made Lucy come off as "weak."

Place Lucy on a team with Levy and Freed. It is guaranteed that on that team, she will not be considered weak, because her capabilities fall in line. Both Levy and Freed are the same type as her; the type that plans and uses their mind and strategies and logic in order to defeat their enemies as opposed to a team made up of people like Natsu, Gray, and Erza, the type who can just mindlessly charge into battle and thanks to incredibly powerful but destructive attacks make it out alive.

Lucy likes to call the comparison _Intelligence_ vs. _Instinct,_ two opposite fighting styles. Try to place the two together as Team Natsu had, and one side would be overwhelmed by the other. Placing an intellectual fighter like Lucy on a team of people who relied pretty much solely on what they felt would do the job at first thought was basically a way of writing off all of Lucy's potential. If her team were to actually make use of the _sensible_ strategic approaches to most things, in the way Lucy saw it instead of thinking with either their stomach or penis, it was likely that Team Natsu could become a close challenge to even the Thunder God Tribe.

But god knows that Natsu would have an affinity for ice before such a thing as listening to Lucy's ideas over the ones produced by their stomach and the ideas fueled by overwhelming amounts of testosterone screaming at the two males in the group that they needed to challenge each other or they were doing something wrong. So, Lucy is forced to try and fight the way they do instead. Think with your stomach and throw your attacks around like it's a rubber ball until your enemy is down. No planning, because planning requires cooperation, no technique, because the lack of planning means that enemies are rushing in, always at large numbers, giving little time for such a thing. On a team such as Team Natsu, Lucy might as well be useless.

Lucy loves Team Natsu, she really does. Even Lisanna who had joined just recently but as much as she loved Team Natsu, Lucy had bills to pay, a lot of them, and it felt as if every time the team thought it was a good idea to come and visit her apartment, her debt fell deeper as she struggled to afford enough food to survive after her refrigerator was raided, and pay for damages to her apartment, most of it being ice and flames with the occasional puncture wound in her floorboards or wall, undoubtedly the work of the Titania herself.

 _ **8:00 AM**_  
 _ **March 12, Guild Hall**_

"Mira, get me something- anything, make sure it's strong. I need something strong."

Mira sighed as she pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. "What happened Lucy?"

Lucy scowled to herself. "Mira, I love my team, I really do but they infuriate me." Minus Lisanna who Lucy had a newfound appreciation for. Out of her entire team, the sweet white-haired girl, the only one who didn't break into her apartment and _destroy,_ was gradually creeping into her heart as the favorite.

"Other than your sister, who I'm about two meals away from falling in love with by the way, those idiots have continuously been breaking into my apartment, eating all my food and just freezing and stabbing, and _burning-_ don't even get me started on the burning. Last night, Natsu burned some important documents of mine, ones that I even hid so he wouldn't be able to. On top of that, Gray managed to freeze my entire underwear drawer and Erza ran her sword through my favorite top.

Mira grimaced in pity for the blonde-haired girl. "Maybe you can take some solo's?"

"I thought about that, but Team Natsu is ridiculously overprotective, not to mention nosy. The minute they hear of me going on a job by myself, they'll just decide on their own to come along."

"Hey blondie, why don't you come with me for the next mission?" Laxus pulled up into the seat next to her. Lucy smiled at the lightning mage.

"You'd do that for me?" She didn't know Laxus all too well and this sudden offer from the gruff man was a surprise to her.

"Sure." He pulled out a mission flyer, "I found a job that your skill set would be really useful on. You're a pretty good dancer right? This thing pays _really_ well, but I need someone to act as an entertainer to lure out some thug gang trying to kidnap the client." Lucy nodded as she looked over the flyer, finally looking at the number on the bottom, her eyes blowing wide at the multiple zeroes. Laxus laughed heartily as he watched the smaller blondes face fly through a barrage of expressions. "The client is some crazy rich man so it's an S-class."

Lucy, not being in any position to question the slightly older man just smiled before accepting.

"Good. We meet at the train station tomorrow, at nine." It wasn't a question, but an order, and since it was her who was the charity case, Lucy knew better than to argue about anything as she watched Laxus pull away from the bar and upstairs, probably to do some paperwork in preparation for one day becoming Guild Master.

"Lucy, are you sure-"  
"Not a word to my team about this Mirajane." Lucy cut her off. The mission probably had more to it than just dancing and some small-time thugs, Lucy wasn't so naive as to believe it was really that simple, it was S-class after all and having grown up in high-society, Lucy was well aware of just how complicated things could quite likely become. Mirajane frowned at her. "Don't look at me like that Mira."

"I'm just worried Lucy, I don't think you know what you're getting into."

She picked up her shot glass, gulping down the burning liquor "I'm pretty sure I do Mira," Lucy smiled at her as she slammed the shot glass on the table, "and besides- even if I don't know, I got a guy like Laxus with me." Lucy paused, staring blankly for a moment. "Seriously, don't worry, and don't tell them anything, I need the money and everything will be alright. It always is."

 _ **8:54 AM**_  
 _ **March 13, Train Station**_

Lucy arrived at the train station a few minutes early, Plue by her side as she waited for her mission partner. She eyed the transportation vehicle, a multitude of memories of motion-sick Natsu flashing through her mind. Laxus was a dragonslayer too wasn't he? She wondered if he suffered from the same barrage of nausea that usually came along with any form of mobile-transportation.

She caught a flash of blonde hair on a large body. "Laxus!" She called for him, waving her hand in the air as the large man approached. He grunted as he saw her. "Good morning Laxus." Lucy smiled up at the man who seemed mildly amused.

"Morning Blondie."


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy could visibly see Laxus becoming more and more nauseas as the train travelled. She held back a soft snicker as her theory that even second-generation dragonslayers get motion sickness was confirmed. "Laxus," she called for the older man who peeked open one eye to look at her and grunted. Lucy hesitated with her next course of action. Perhaps it would be too familiar for someone she wasn't particularly close to? Closing her eyes and taking a breath, she counted to three before pulling the man down and lying his head in her lap, teasing her fingers through his hair like she would've done to Natsu had he been there. On a few, rare missions she took with Levy, Pantherlily, and Gajeel, she had seen Levy doing the same to the metal dragonslayer, and on other, even rarer missions she had taken with Sabertooth as an act of alliance between the guilds, she'd even found herself with the head of Sting laying in her lap as he blissfully enjoyed the soothingly gentle running of her fingers through his hair, all the while Yukino had done the same for Rogue.

Laxus was clearly startled by the unfamiliar stroking on his scalp, almost irritated at himself that he'd let his guard down for long enough that the smaller mage was able to pull her down without his consent. If that was an enemy, consequences for such actions of his would've been much more dire. At the same time, he couldn't bring himself to say that the pleasant feeling of slender fingers massaging his spiked blonde tresses. So much so, he caught himself purring for a moment as he temporarily forgot just how demeaning literally every train ride he was forced to take ever was and stopped himself from making the offensive sound, hopefully before the younger blonde caught him doing so. As she looked down at his face from in her lap with a gentle smile gracing her delicate features, he looked away, slightly embarrassed- not that he would ever admit it, for having been caught.

Reluctantly, he spoke, "Do that thing again." Much to his annoyance, the celestial mage looked a little smug as she stared at him with a sarcastic type of curiosity, playing dumb. He resisted the urge to growl at her. He was sick, and he knew for a fact she was well aware of exactly what he was asking for.

"Do what again Laxus?"

Laxus scowled before answering, "The thing you were doing with your fingers, in my hair." He grunted.

"But why should I?" She asked, almost smirking at him, clearly enjoying his torment, "I thought you didn't like it? You got all tense."

If Laxus had been any less of a man, he would've probably blushed or stuttered as he stared at the underside of large breasts on a slender frame and was questioned on his life decisions by a pretty woman with a teasing smile but for the sake of preserving his manhood, Laxus did no such thing, only to falter when he could feel the nausea that always accompanied riding a vehicle of any sort rose up form his stomach to his throat. Wearily, for the sake of himself, he responded to her. "I liked it." He paused before adding, "Just do it, blondie."

Lucy cooed at the almost cute way Laxus had said that. "Poor Laxus, saying that must've hurt huh?" She continued ribbing him but she did so whilst running her fingers through his hair just the way he'd grown to like so he didn't bother getting upset about any of it. Of course, he couldn't just let her go without a snarky comment though.

"Just you watch blondie," he'd said, not as sick as he was before but still, clearly not completely better, "All this teasing of yours is going to come back to bite you in the ass."

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you'd like biting my ass Laxus, but that's a conversation for another time." She snarked back as the dragonslayer resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Not before taking a glimpse upward at the underboob above his face in all it's glory however.

"Let's keep that conversation saved for when I'm not about to puke." He agreed with her after taking some time to think about it. When a girl looks like Lucy does, you don't reject her offer for that kind of conversation. He smiled to himself as he heard her giggle lightly.

Three years ago, Lucy would've probably blushed and stuttered the moment any of that kind of talk was brought into play, but now, at 20 years old, Lucy was comfortable in her own skin. She was a grown woman now. She'd experimented enough with smoking, alcohol, and even bed partners since she was sixteen and left her father's property. It had taken some time and she'd developed a lot as a person throughout her years. At sixteen through the earlier part of her seventeenth year of life, she'd experimented most, desperate to break away from the image of herself as a princess who didn't do anything bad or wrong whatsoever. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't tried drugs before, mostly under the influence of hanging out with the wrong crowd while still a vulnerable kid, but she wouldn't deny that she hadn't enjoyed it very much. And having been sixteen with E-cups adorning her chest didn't play out too well for her either as it just made her a better target for people, men mainly, who wanted to manipulate her. And they had. In her desperation to break away from the image of a good girl, she'd spent her early years going bad instead. She was still a good person. She hadn't gone out of her way to beat anyone up or cause anyone trouble but she did things that were bad for herself, and having met Natsu and joining Fairy Tail dragged her out from that dark hole of what she could now classify as gradual self-destruction.

"Just shut up and sleep, Sparky." The smile on her features never left as she looked at him who was already half asleep. At first, she thought Laxus was a bit scary if not hot, but just having been offered this job and being on the train with him showed that there was more to his character than that. She found herself thinking sarcastically to herself that, surprise, surprise Laxus Dreyar is actually more than just a really angry, really scary man. She couldn't quite say she knew his character and that he was actually a super nice, kind, peaceful man deep inside as some other people might assume from their most recent interactions, but at the very least, she could say that he was fun. Fun to mess with. Teasing him and watching him go through stages of discomfort to irritation to just full-on trying to tease back was enough entertainment to last Lucy a good week. She loved Team Natsu, she really did, and she kept saying that probably to try and keep it in mind so she doesn't hold internal rage at their most recent damages, but she wouldn't lie to herself. Those idiots would be oblivious to most of her teasing unless she said it outright and Lisanna was too nice a person for Lucy to bring herself to try and mess with the girl. She'd probably be wracked with guild if she overdid it on accident, but sometimes Lucy couldn't resist. She was as avid a shipper as Mirajane when it came to Lisanna and Natsu.

Some people may argue that Lucy was meant for Natsu but if she was being completely honest, Lucy could never see herself being with an idiot that dense. Sure, Natsu was kind, and compassionate, and supportive, and she could always rely on him to save the day based on some kind of nonsensical power up based on what she'd concluded to have been friendship power? She didn't quite understand it herself but her pink haired best friend had this mysterious ability where every time he started raging on about how much he loved her and the rest of his friends, he was instantly powerful enough to defeat the enemy. It seemed like some people in the guild had assumed Lucy jealous of Lisanna's new position on team Natsu and even in Natsu's heart, but Lucy really wasn't. She was happy for everyone to have their friend back and quite liked the girl herself. For all she cared, Lisanna could have Natsu. Unless that fool gained a brain well developed enough to hold a long conversation on an intelligent subject that did not involve food, Igneel, or "Nakama" as he so often put it, Lucy had come to the conclusion that she and Natsu could never become a couple despite some insistence on the guild's part.

 _ **4:37 PM**_  
 _ **March**_ _**13, Seven**_

Laxus and Lucy had finally arrived in Seven for the Mission and Laxus struggled to keep his composure in tact as he was tempted to kiss the ground, the wonderful, amazing, not moving ground, like that idiotic flame-brain probably would've. "Let's find a place to stay first and then we can go meet up with the client." Lucy suggested, biting her lip to hide a laugh as she could see on his face just how happy Laxus was to be off the train. His eyes were practically sparkling from the moment the train had come to a stop and he had almost ran outside. She wouldn't have been surprised if he'd done that thing Natsu did every time they were released from transportation and started kissing the ground. Of course though, Laxus was the manly, great and powerful Laxus. He need do no such thing as kiss the ground, the ground shall tremble at mere presence. This time, Lucy couldn't hide her snicker as her mind echoed the words in a narrative and almost sarcastic tone of voice.

"Alright, let's go blondie." Lucy frowned at the nickname. She had thought Laxus was pretty intelligent but was she wrong? Or was he just extraordinarily hypocritical?

"You do realize that you, yourself are also blonde right? You couldn't have thought of a more creative nickname for me? One that isn't probably donned by thousands of other girls in Earthland with yellow hair?" She questioned him, jogging lightly to walk at his side. He had much longer legs and faster, wider strides so keeping up with him was quite difficult.

Laxus seemed to take in her commentary for a moment before responding, "What did you call me before? Sparky? Was that it? And you're seriously judging me on lack of creativity. Try again blondie, hypocritical doesn't look good on you." The man seemed almost smug at his diva-like counter to Lucy's small-talk and it took everything in her not to burst out in laughter as she struggled with the inner conflict of being irritated that he, the bigger hypocrite call her a hypocrite, or the pure comedy that gruff, serious, and blunt Laxus just used a 'doesn't look good on you' phrase at her. In the end, the latter won as she burst out into boisterous, and to Laxus, offensive laughter. "Hey, what's so funny blondie," He almost growled at her, growing further irritated as that only seemed to further amuse the girl.

"It's, just," She struggled to catch her breath between laughs, "You just-you just!" More snickers followed her incomplete sentence.

"I just what blondie? What'd I say that was so funny? I want to know, and I want to know now!" He almost stamped his foot, his more childish qualities tempted to shine through the exterior of an all-powerful thunder god he'd spent years trying to develop. His eyes were widening in annoyance as she only laughed harder, almost crying now.

"I-I'm s-sorry, but" the guffaws continued to intensify, Lucy herself half-convinced she was going hysterical, "You're so _childish_!" She'd finally managed to get out. Laxus growled at her words, eyes burning lasers into her skin. Childish. _Childish?_ Laxus Dreyar was no child, and was in no way similar to one. He was a mature, grown-ass man, for god sakes! And he had no intention of tolerating such-such _arrogance_ from a tiny, _child-sized_ girl, despite her average stature of 5'5. Compared to his towering stature of 6'3, she could be considered the height of a child at least.

"For now, we split. We can contact each other using the lacrima if we find a good place, alright blondie?" He finally breathed with a sigh, choosing to ignore his internal dilemma that was how the word "Childish" Was used in a sentence referring to himself. Honestly, it was such a moronic debacle in his opinion.

"Alright. I'll catch you later Sparks."

As the two walked in opposite directions, Lucy took some time to think about the mission and what exactly was happening. There was no way that what Laxus had told her was all there was to it. If Lucy was anything, she was a smart girl, and it didn't take all that much thought to figure out that an S-class mission won't e so simple as dancing and body guarding. Body guarding missions were usually low-payers, no matter how high ranking or rich the person you were guarding because they tended to be easy. Babysitting grownups as some would put it. Unless there was a serious threat, say if the Oracion Seis were to have targeted a wealthy man, then the job would've been extraordinarily high-paying, but for something like getting an official through a parade safely, all the while entertaining, the pay should've been low and the job shouldn't have been S-class, especially because of how public parades tended to be.

Lucy's role on this mission was to dance. No more, no less. She was to keep eyes on her, watching her every movement, not so that the client would be the most popular, but so Laxus, and the client could move through the shadows rather than in broad daylight. It had taken her the train ride to finally come to that realization, but it was a clear explanation. It also made the reason Laxus chose to bring her along quite obvious.

The Fairy Tail guild was stuffed to the brim with beautiful and powerful mages. That much was a known fact throughout Earthland thanks to all the tabloids which had taken interest in "The Wildest, Craziest, Most Insane Guild of the Century!" As one article had so put it. But powerful as her fellow guild-women were, most of their talents and quirks didn't delve too deeply in the seduction arts, usually stopping at pressing up their breasts with their arms for a discount at their favorite clothing store. Lucy, on the other hand, having spent years learning to sing, to play instruments, and to dance with her father, and on top of that having spent a year and a half alone, discovering to what extent she could and should push her sexuality and physical body, and in what way to get what she wanted and when, was leagues above the rest of the guild in seduction missions, Mirajane included. The white-haired beauty was a model, but that was about as far as it went.

On most missions with her team, Lucy would serve as the distraction, attracting all eyes in the room, man or woman with graceful body movements, a captivating sight that not one person in the room could bring themselves to look away. An exotic dancer in a bar, a ballerina in an auditorium, a ballroom dancer, a stripper, she'd done it all, having even sung and played instruments instead of dancing, and with the help of Lyra's small tips and tuning, Lucy's voice was not something one would be able to deny themselves as much so as her dancing.

So now, Lucy realized why Laxus had chosen _her_ of all people. Sure, she wasn't the strongest. She wasn't the greatest of fighters, and she most certainly wasn't S-class. But Lucy was a distraction. A decoy, a seductress, however you want to put it, that was what she was, and she was the best at her job. Maybe best in Fiore, maybe up top with some of the best in Earthland. But she was the type of treat that not one person would be willing to give up.

She was perfect for this mission.

At that moment, her lacrima rang and she picked it up, listening as Laxus told her where to meet up with him. "Alright then." She had said.

"Let's head out, lightning ass."


End file.
